Where Your Native Home? Lordie

In The Devil's Music: A History of the Blues Giles Oakley suggests that the Delta blues players often identified with the figure of the boll weavil in both its destructiveness and its homelessness, imagining its migrations as a search for a home. This variation on the theme by Charley Patton certainly bears this insight out. Here Boweavil is personfied and enters into dialogue with the singer. Patton's delivery of lyrics wasn't always the clearest, so here are the lyrics.Mississippi Bo Weavil Bluesby Charley PattonSees a little boll weevil keeps movin' in the, Lordie!You can plant your cotton and you won't get a half a bale, LordieBo weevil, bo weevil, where's your native home? Lordie"A-Louisiana raised in Texas,Least is where I was bred and born", LordieWell, I saw the bo weevil, Lord, a-circle, Lord, in the air, LordieThe next time I seed him, Lord, he had his family there, LordieBo weevil left Texas, Lord, he bid me "fare ye well", Lordie(spoken: Where you goin' now?)I'm goin' down the Mississippi, gonna give Louisiana hell, Lordie(spoken: How is that, boy?)Suck all the blossoms and he leave your hedges square, LordieThe next time I seed you, you know you had your family there, LordieBo weevil meet his wife, "We can sit down on the hill", LordieBo weevil told his wife, "Let's trade this forty3 in", LordieBo weevil told his wife, says, "I believe I may go North", Lordie(spoken: Hold on, I'm gonna tell all about that)"Let's leave Louisiana, we can go to Arkansas", LordieWell, I saw the bo weevil, Lord a-circle, Lord, in the air, LordieNext time I seed him, Lord, he had his family there, LordieBo weevil told the farmer that "I 'tain't got ticket fare", LordieSucks all the blossom and leave your hedges square, LordieBo weevil, bo weevil, where your native home? Lordie"Most anywhere they raise cotton and corn", LordieBo weevil, bo weevil, "Outta treat me fair", LordieThe next time I did you had your family there, LordieWhile admiring his guitar playing Patton's musical cohort seemed to have regarded him as somewhat of a clown and faulted his singing style and spontaneous approach to lyrics. That, however, is not so much in invidence on many of his recordings, and Patton was an important influence on Booker (Bukka) White who knew him only through his records.